Titel: H Is for Happiness | Das Blubbern von Glück
She already seems a little crazy when you get to know the student Candice (Daisy Axon) at the beginning. You quickly classify her as the nerd of the class, which also causes some groaning in the class when she raises her fingers again. But soon the child turns out to be quite clever and above all she has a very distinctive helper syndrome, no matter what they think or tell about her. But her happy real life is put to the test exactly where a child’s safe haven should be, in her own family. This is due to the sudden infant death of her little sister, which her parents could not fully process even after the four years that have now passed. Especially her mother suffers from severe depression. Her father is also visibly overwhelmed by the situation and prefers to withdraw to his work room, where he is constantly programming on the computer to completely distract himself from everyday life. The death of his second daughter also occupies him, but he suppresses it as best he can. Additionally, the father also has an éclat with his brother Brian (Joel Jackson). They both used to have a well-running company until a fight broke them up. Since he was convinced that his brother had betrayed him in a small matter, he finally gave up everything and his brother became a millionaire. Brian’s attempts to end this quarrel, however, failed so far.
Candice’s everyday life is interrupted when Douglas Benson (Wesley Patten) appears as a newcomer in her class. He is seated next to Candice by the class teacher and does not let a second pass by to make contact with her. He is determined to tell her a secret, but Candice keeps pushing him away because she is too busy studying her dictionary and putting pencils in her pencil case. Only after the lessons she lets him reveal the secret. Douglas claims that he came here from another dimension and is now looking for a way to return. He achieved the change of dimension by throwing himself off a tree. When he woke up and stuck to his story, the doctors told his mother that he may have suffered a memory loss, but from Douglas’ point of view, this is absolutely not true. Candice seems to like this story, because from now on the two of them spend time together again and again and of course she is also looking for a way to help him with his problem, but also the worry that something might happen to him, or even disappear completely, starts to grow in her. Through this new friendship Candice is also faced with a completely new problem she has never faced before. The two fall in love…
Bottom line:
H for Happiness is a real surprise and comes up with a great sense of dramaturgy and humour. The movie enters many different serious levels like sadness, bullying or family quarrels, yet manages to climb the curve out of all this sadness over and over again, and leaves us with an absolute feeling of happiness. This is mainly thanks to the protagonist Candice (Daisy Axon), who with her almost unwavering helpfulness always looks ahead and carries on. Of course, this doesn’t rule out that Candice also lives through her deep moments, but she finds her very own way of dealing with them. Sometimes through advice from others or simply through her seemingly endless knowledge. Also, many of the shots in the movie are breathtakingly beautiful and there is also a lot of love for details in the background. Sometimes the shots remind us a little bit of Wes Anderson’s movies, which is mainly due to the retro look, which he has shaped a lot in the last years. The fine-tuning was also given to the movie with its special sound design. Most of the time rather soft sounds like the creaking of a tree are brought into the foreground in order to transport a mood even more intense. An unusually beautiful choice for this year’s opening of Generation kplus.
Actors:
Daisy Axon (Candice)
Wesley Patten (Douglas Benson)
Richard Roxburgh (Jim Phee)
Emma Booth (Claire Phee)
Joel Jackson (Rich Uncle Brian)
Deborah Mailman (Penelope Benson)
Miriam Margolyes (Miss Bamford)
Director:
John Sheedy
Information about the film including a short film excerpt:
https://www.berlinale.de/en/programm/programm/detail.html?film_id=202002223
